The Rolling Stones kicked off a five-date concert series in London this morning, as the self-proclaimed best band in the world's rock 'n' roll circus entered its sixth decade.

The three dates in London and two in New York have been scheduled to mark 50 years since the band first took to the stage at the Marquee Club on London's Oxford Street in 1962.

This morning an estimated 20,000-strong sell-out crowd packed into London's O2 Arena to hear Mick Jagger and company strut and swagger their way through hit after hit.

Jagger, guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, along with drummer Charlie Watts, are all in their 60s and early 70s, but played for more than two hours.

The concert featured guest appearances from American R&B singer-songwriter Mary J Blige, who delivered a rousing duet with Jagger on Gimme Shelter, and guitarist Jeff Beck.

Former Rolling Stones Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor were also back in the fold, performing with the rest of the band for the first time in 20 years.

The concerts are the culmination of a busy few months of events, rehearsals and recordings.

There has been a photo album, two new songs, a music video, a documentary film, a blitz of media appearances and a handful of warm-up gigs in Paris.

The O2 Arena was where another top band of the 1960s and 70s, Led Zeppelin, staged an eagerly awaited one-off reunion in 2007, and while the Stones have appeared together far more regularly, it is their first arena performance in six years.

But the run-up to the Stones' gigs was marked by widespread complaints from fans at ticket prices that ranged from 95 pounds ($145) to up to 950 pounds ($1,456) for a VIP seat.

Costs went far higher on secondary ticketing websites, although by Friday eBay was offering several seats to this morning's show at below face value and there were places still officially available at around 400 pounds ($613) apiece.

"Everybody all right there in the cheap seats?" Jagger asked in reference to the controversy over the price of tickets.